Last Formula Ford lap drama for Brands winner Buri

LAST-LAP DRAMA FOR BRANDS WINNER BURI* Antti nearly loses EcoBoost victory number six * Bart van Os claims the EuroCup Duratec victory honoursAntti Buri’s sixth win of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford season might look straightforward on the results sheet - the Finn led at the end of every lap - but the statistics do not reveal the drama which nearly cost him victory. For JTR EcoBoost Mygale driver Buri lost the lead to his pursuer Luke Williams a third of the way around the final lap, and regained control of the race only when Williams struck problems of his own.Up to the 12th and last lap, Buri appeared in complete control, making a perfect start from pole position and managing a gap between himself and Williams of around 2.5s. But then it all went wrong at Graham Hill Bend: “The throttle stuck,” said Antti, “and I went over the grass. Luke passed me, and I took the inside line at the next corner, got the better exit and managed to get in front of him again. Crazy!”Williams was powerless to respond, due to a sudden decrease in his car’s straight-line speed. “I got past him when he went off but there was nothing I could do to stop him coming past me again,” said Luke. “Really, I am just pleased to finish.”Williams had endured a torrid time in testing yesterday, blowing a clutch and an engine. There were more problems in qualifying with his fresh engine’s turbocharger, and the Sowerby driver did well to claim second on the grid after only half a dozen laps. A brief early battle with his Jamun team-mate Jake Cook was brought to an end with Cook’s demise through throttle problems, after which Luke posted a succession of fastest laps in his pursuit of Buri.Cavan Corcoran was third for JTR. “I got a good start and was behind Luke and Jake, but something was leaking from Jake’s car so I was sliding all over the place and lost a lot of ground.” The Matlock driver finished well ahead of the only other EcoBoost finisher, his team-mate Julio Moreno. Jamun’s Eric Lichtenstein lost his clutch at the start and joined Cook in retirement, while Ryan Cullen and Fred Martin-Dye went out together in a first-lap collision.The race was also the first of the season’s Formula Ford EuroCup rounds, with a number of Duratec drivers from the Benelux championship joining the regulars. GEVA’S Bart van Os and 16-year-old Jos Kiekens duelled all the way to the 10th lap for class honours until Kiekens’ Provily Racing Mygale suffered a misfire and he slipped to third behind GEVA’s 16-year-old driver Max van Splunteren.British Duratec class points leader Fabian Welter endured a disastrous opening lap, slipping to dead last in his Rendez-Vous Racing Mygale. It took the Mexican six laps to climb back through the order and into position behind Olly Rae’s Enigma Mygale, and then all the way to the final lap to find a way past the Australian for his sixth category win of the season, and eighth overall behind Kiekens.Rae was two-tenths behind at the line for class second, ahead of guest driver James Hammond’s race Car Consultants Mygale, Matt Rao in the Fluid Van Diemen, the Enigma Mygale of George Blundell and Don Hardman Automotive Ray pilot Abdul Ahmed. Alex Drabble’s Fluid Van Diemen exited the race on the final lap.Provisional resultsDunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great BritainRound 10 (of 24), Brands Hatch Grand Prix 23/6/1212 laps / 29.20 milesOverall & EcoBoost1 Antti BURI / FIN JTR Mygale 18m 09.044s / 96.52mph2 Luke WILLIAMS / GBR Jamun Mygale +4.087s3 Cavan CORCORAN / GBR JTR Mygale +4.890s4 Julio MORENO / ECU JTR Mygale +18.895sEurocup Duratec1 Bart van OS / NED GEVA Mygale +27.124s2 Max van SPLUNTEREN / NED GEVA Mygale +39.251s3 Jos KIEKENS / NED Provily Mygale +44.482sBritish Duratec1 Fabian WELTER / MEX RVR Mygale +47.410s2 Olly RAE / AUS Enigma Mygale +47.603s3 Matt RAO / GBR Fluid Van Diemen +57.066s4 George BLUNDELL / GBR Enigma Mygale +57.256s5 Abdul AHMED / USA Hardman Ray +1m 05.373sFastest lap Williams 1m 29.531s / 97.84mph Est RecFull results http://bit.ly/LGmwVhProvisional championship standingsOverall 1 Buri 289 points; 2 Jake Cook 189; 3 Corcoran 184; 4=Williams & Fred Martin-Dye 176; 6 Moreno 166 etcDuratec 1 Welter 283; 2 Rae 218; 3 Blundell 204; 4 Rao 178; 5 Alex Drabble 131; 6 Ken Thirlwall 84 etcNext rounds 24 June, Brands Hatch


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